Response 58459136

About You

1.
What is your name?

2.
What is your email address?

Online voting (eg, on computers and mobile devices)

6.
What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of online voting (eg, voting via the internet using a computer or mobile device)?

Comment:

The biggest benefit is convenience but also with the appropriate security measures the voting "paper" can come with additional information about the MP/Party etc for people to read.
The largest drawback is security? How do you register the people? Do they have to use a specific registered device? How to you prevent fraud? Two factor authentication? (i.e. a physical card sent to address with part of a code on and the digital registration)?
How do you know that the person using the device is the actual person that should be voting? (however, I can just turn up with a name and address at the moment without any proof of Id and vote)
One alternative to complete online voting is to enable anyone to vote at any polling station as long as they have their e-voting card and the actual polling card

7.
What impact, if any, would online voting have on voter turnout?

Comment:

I would hope that it would increase voter turnout

8.
Would online voting increase the ‘digital divide’ or increase accessibility in elections?

Comment:

It would increase accessibility to people who would find it difficult to get to polling stations, e.g. disabled, or even people who have a long commute

Electronic voting at the ballot box (eg, using a voting machine at a polling station)

10.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using electronic voting machines in polling stations instead of paper ballots?

Comment:

E-voting machines are in my opinion, a good way to improve the reliability of the votes, there would be fewer votes spoiled through incompetence
However, more technophobic people might be put off from voting as the entire idea of interacting with a machine would frighten/confuse them

11.
Would electronic voting at the ballot box be a useful step towards online voting?

Comment:

Yes, I see the electronic voting at the ballot box as a significant step towards online voting. I think we could, if careful, allow:
* Vote at any polling station - even if you're on holiday
* Build some technology infrastructure for the collection of votes electronically
* Get people used to the idea behind electronic voting

Best practice and troubleshooting

13.
What safeguards would be needed to reassure the public that their digital vote was secure?

Comment:

Not sure on this one, I think public perception of government IT projects isn't that great (perhaps the government could start successfully building IT projects and engaging with good software developers and not just Capita et al.)